


Molting

by madamelibrarian



Series: Adventures of Baby Castiel [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Baby Castiel, Big Brother Gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 22:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5603803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamelibrarian/pseuds/madamelibrarian





	Molting

The first molts are always the worst, or so Gabriel had been warned. He personally couldn’t remember his nor had he really paid attention to other fledglings when they went through theirs. Now he wished he had. It all started with Castiel being crankier than usual. Not wanting to play and just generally being a grump when Gabriel tried to engage him. Then over the next few days it progressed to the point where all Castiel would do was lay curled up in a little ball, whimpering and hiccuping through his sobs. Gabriel tried singing to him and holding him, everything that was recommended by the few other angels he spoke to about it. He even went so far as to try and feed him a touch of his grace with disastrously messy results. After cleaning the nest up from the failed attempt at feeding an idea struck him. 

Castiel’s oil glands never produced much preen oil on their own and it’d made the task of caring for his wings a true chore. Gabriel could have smacked himself for not thinking of it sooner, his own oil. It couldn’t hurt even if it was generally frowned upon. To other angels it was akin to using someone else’s toothbrush but at this point Gabriel couldn’t care in the least. Settling down beside Castiel, he reaches back and massages his own glands until he had an ample amount running down his hand. With a touch that wouldn’t have disturbed dust, he runs his coated fingers through Castiel’s feathers. Taking great care in working the preening oil into the newly budding quills. When he was halfway through the first wing, Castiel’s whimpers tapered off and he turned his head to gaze up at his big brother to give him a faint wet eyed smile. “Feeling better, Little Sparrow?” Gabriel softly inquires. Castiel lays his head on Gabriel’s bent knee and lets out a sigh of contentment, spreading his downy wings wide. Gabriel chuckles lightly as he watches the baby. “Don’t worry, Cas. I’ll figure things out eventually, even if we have to share toothbrushes along the way.”


End file.
